Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Talenti Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Gelato #35

[New for early 2015, now retired] Oh man, my brain is spinning with all the new stuff I just saw at stop & shop. I think I literally saw every new product line we've been searching for, many of them on sale.... and I even saw JC Pie Pops! It took me a good five minutes to decide what I wanted. Another artisan collection flavor from HD, B&J Tonight Dough, a new Magnum bar, or ....

Not the most exciting looking thing at first glance, but if you look closely then you can see some spices and tiny oatmeal chunks mixed in. Kind of smells like some foo-foo oatmeal cookie. Oh, and those are raisin chunks you see.

Oh my, yeah, that tastes foo foo too. I wasn't expecting that. Whoa, that's something all right. I've totally forgotten what I was expecting because of the robust flavor of this one. It's certainly not pulling any punches. (I wonder if it's reminding me of a fancy rum raisin type flavor)

There are small raisins and cookie chunks everywhere. As I dig deeper, the cookie chunks are adding a needed balance to the base and I'm starting to settle in to this one. I think this is now more like I expected, but still bolder. I mean, Talenti has a long streak of being bold and I'm definitely being served with multiple flavors here.

I think the raisins are my least favorite part. They aren't terrible or icy or anything like that, it's just my personal preference for plain, crunchy oatmeal cookies (sans raisins). I can't tell if they are spiced or if they've just picked up some flavoring from the gelato.

Double whoa! I just had a physic vision of Talenti coming out with a carrot cake flavor. There are some similarities between this flavor and say a high end carrot cake from a restaurant. I don't think it would be a huge stretch for them (oh, and if it had a cream cheese swirl, triple whoa!)

Ok, so let's recap. Usual Talenti quality. Usual bold profile. I don't think this is a flavor I would gravitate towards in general, but I'm stoked I got to try it.On Second Scoop: Well, there goes the second half of the pint.... mostly because I was too lazy to put it back in the freezer. Part of me wants to say there is a bit of raisin flavoring to the base, but it's probably just the molasses right? Iunno. I like it when it's just a standard oatmeal cookie vibe going on, but when things get more complicated, I kind of wish there were some chocolate chips in here. Pretty sure my personal bias is getting in the way of this review, but at the very least, please know that I highly doubt this will be replacing B&J's beloved Oatmeal Cookie Chunk.

What's foo foo mean? Fancy? I don't get it. The only reason I'm asking is because I too have been looking forward to this flavor the most. I find myself checking your blog before buying any new ice cream flavor at all. You guys do fantastic work.

@Anon: Foo foo implies fancies, often TOO fancy. It's a fun way to say highfalutin. (in other words, I would have preferred a bit more simple flavor, but that's personal preference, it's still a quality product)

Complain, and ye shall receive! After posting a comment today on another review about how I was never going to get to try this flavor because stores in my area weren't stocking it, poof, it showed up.

It took a few spoons to get to the heart of the matter - By that I mean the actual oatmeal raisin flavor. The first bite made me almost cringe with how much of an alcohol / extract flavor it had. After breaking through this layer, I finally got to the cookie and raisin bits - Though it was about halfway down the pint. This part I liked. This was the flavor I was looking for.

Unfortunately, that top layer just really hurts this flavor - To the point where I'll look for alternatives in an oatmeal cookie flavored ice cream.

Not much Talenti experience, but this flavor almost tasted like it came out of the ground: not sure if it was the base or the mix-ins, but there was almost a grittiness to this flavor. Maybe I'm just used to over-processed stuff, but this was not a flavor for me.

So I spotted this in the store on my last go around and Im about to take the plunge today on my next visit there. Wish me luck people. I hesitate on Talenti and didnt buy it on first site last time because the only one time I tried Talenti (I think it was the sea salt caramel popular one), I just didnt like it that much. I figured I was just not a gelato man and ice cream must be more my speed. I had never had gelato before and it did seem very different. Well today Im going to take a leap again and see if it was a bad batch or I really have prejudices LOL I just cant resist Oatmeal Cookie as (as I always keep saying) Ben and Jerrys Oatmeal Cookie Chunk was my all time favorite ever ice cream. Maybe this will compare :-) Not hopeful

we do highly recommend Talenti around here but not every flavor is for every person. Please check our various reviews to see if one matches your personal tastes better http://www.onsecondscoop.com/search/label/talenti (I too am in the camp where I'm just not that big a fan of their sea salt caramel but adore many of their other flavors.)